Sinless
by Winter 'neechan
Summary: She came to see him one last time before she let her life end, dragging old memories and long-forgotten feelings to the surface as well as a wish to change the past. Being a Nobody can't change the feelings he had when he was human. ZexionxOC
1. Memories

**A/N: Well, here, it is, my first finished fanfic in_ six_ _years_, and my first ever published online... I'm so excited! Lol, anyway, massive thanks goes to Chibi, who did a waaaaaaay better job proofreading than MS Word ever could and Nata and all of her nagging and joking that led to this fanfic's completion(from the notebook I mainly wrote in in French class to getting typed so she could finish reading it), as well as everyone else who kept telling me to hurry up and get this done in spite of the colossal setbacks this fic has experienced*eyes my laptop with it's milk-clogged keys* Because of you, I finally finished a fanfic _and_ typed it! XD**

**This being said, I WILL hunt down stealers like animals to the ends of the earth. Just a kind warning.**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Kingdom Hearts or it's locations, OR it's characters...however Amber, Hanabi, and the Full Bloom Festival are MINE.**

**Now, on with the fanfic!**

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><p>Ienzo liked Amber's company; she was kind and loving as well as highly sensitive to those around her. A bit morbid at times and overly knowledgeable for her age of fifteen years, they got along quite well while coming across as older than they both were. She had been coming to the castle almost every day since she was ten; therefore Ienzo had known her since he was five. It also helped that she wasn't pushy—if Ienzo didn't feel like talking then she wouldn't push the matter. Amber had allowed him to talk to her first, after two months of waiting on her to start nagging at him for conversation and not getting a thing aside from her usual polite "Hi", he had caved to curiosity and began to talk to her.<p>

She was hard to dislike, nearly impossible to hate. Her pale skin, thin body, and expressive pale blue eyes gave you the feeling you had to protect her as much as her small voice and frequent coughing spells gave evidence of her frailty. Amber had always been courteous, sticking to whatever rules were put down for her and she would listen to whatever you had to say. On days when it was permitted, she liked to wander the gardens by the castle under the alternating watchful eyes of Aeleus and Dilan, playing on her "helplessness" and allowing each to feel more important than they actually were. Ienzo complained the he could see their egos inflating on regular occasions. He was even pretty sure Braig had taken a slight liking to her since his recent trip to the infirmary. When she was out and about Radiant Garden (under supervision, of course), everyone spoke with her and she spoke back to bid good luck on sales, wish well to one family member or another, ask about someone, the list went on. He swore she had everyone and their families memorized, of course it wasn't too hard to believe if you knew that she spent all of her time outside of the castle at home, in bed. Her parents would let her do nothing else, as they were afraid she would be hurt too easily and it drove her insane. The castle was the only place she found she was treated like a real person, everyone was conscious of her illness and frailty, but otherwise it was hardly mentioned. She spent as much time as she could at the castle with Ansem the Wise and his apprentices where she had relative freedom.

It was most often the case the Ienzo was given the "responsibility" of keeping an eye on her while in the castle though she mostly sat by the window in an infirmary chair. If either one felt talkative, then they spoke, which was how he came to decide she was one of the most purehearted beings he would probably ever meet. She wanted to be any other girl, not a princess or a fairy like most delusional girls her age, but just an ordinary girl who wasn't terminally ill as far as anyone could tell. She wanted to be able to play with the neighborhood kids, go to school normally, have friends come over, to argue playfully with her parents over weekend bedtimes. She only wanted everything she should have had. She only wanted what she couldn't have because she was sick and nothing anyone had tried had worked, not even five year's worth of research in Even's part had produced anything helpful. For five years, Ansem the Wise and his apprentices had watched her condition deteriorate like a dying flower that nothing could repair. Her slight cough evolved into more frequent tremors that wracked her fragile body mercilessly, no matter how much they pushed for her to gain weight, she only grew thinner, and despair threatened to consume her at times, yet she tried to stay hopeful. "Holding onto light with a slipping death grip, but I'm not giving up just yet." She said often and she tried to stay positive in a situation that was rapidly going bad. Even was at his wit's end, there was no more he could think to do to keep her life from slipping through his fingers. Years of research were coming to a very _undesirable_ end, it would be all for naught. Five years of a good friendship would come to a tragic close, Ienzo could not find any rationalization behind it all. Why did such a kind, purehearted girl have to die this way? She didn't have much longer before—

He came, or rather, appeared in the town square after a storm. He was barely conscious when Ansem found him, almost delirious-sounding when he was taken to Even for care. He could only give answer to the question of his name, Xehanort, and even that was spoken underlying uncertainty. He could not remember his past and no one in Radiant Garden came with questions about a missing family member. He had no place to go, so Ansem took him under his wing like he had done for Ienzo himself. Amber was introduced to him on a flash of inspiration from Ansem, a last hope that maybe the two could do for each other. The result was dramatic: Amber was suddenly less pale, more energetic, even the coughing lessened slightly… It appeared she was getting better. The two were really doing good for each other—or were they?

Xehanort was sly, kind with Amber, but outside of interaction with her, he was a radical thinker. In between conversations with her, he weaseled his way into the apprentices' close-knit group once he was deemed "better" enough to live normally. Ansem had become worried about the darkness in people's hearts would eventually swallow their world, and as Xehanort had not improved, it was on him that the testing began, but he was not, however, where it would end. While Ansem simply wanted to protect the world he ruled, Xehanort wanted to know more about it in general. He wanted to explore darkness, see what made it tick, wanted to know how the creatures known as Heartless came to be. "What is it that they often say about curiosity these days, Aeleus?" Dilan rumbled when Xehanort explained his main drive to be sheer curiosity.

"It killed the cat." The large, redheaded guard stated flatly, as if he didn't care. Most would have thought it imposing, but it was not meant so, among the apprentices was the only place his toneless speech was easily interpreted. Even with the flat warning from Dilan and Aeleus, Xehanort pressed for support on the idea for larger-scale research and found support in Even, and as a result, Ienzo as well. Ansem, however, was a bit wary of the idea and took time to be assured that nothing incredibly dangerous would happen. Of course, it was innocent little Ienzo that drove the final nail in coffin, convincing the older man to convert a rather generous portion of the castle's extensive basement into a massive lab for the research, which slowly began to take precedence over Amber, as it seemed she needed only conversation with Xehanort to thrive. Within the span of two months Amber had been dragged back from the edge of death by nothing but conversation with an amnesiac, it wasn't scientifically reasonable, but Ienzo didn't care. For him it didn't matter if it made no sense, he was simply happy that she wasn't going to die.

It didn't stop her visits, though. Amber still showed up regularly to talk to everyone, especially Xehanort and Ienzo. It was almost as though she was normal, like she had gotten her wish aside from the periodic check-ins with Even. Her parents were still hard on her, but were steadily becoming less strict as the fact that she was suddenly a lot better than she had been in years seemed to sink in. In between Amber's frequent visits, the darkness research continued in the basement lab that Ansem eventually left alone, allowing the apprentices to take over the research. What started as initially small, harmless experiments that followed Ansem's orders evolved into larger, more dangerous ones that were nothing Ansem would have allowed had he known about them. It was the experiments that should have been "off-limits" that still haunted him, particularly the human ones, as he could still remember the crying, the screams, the moans, the faces… "In the name of science, Ienzo." Even often told him proudly, as though he was unaffected by the horrific scenes that seemed to fill the vast lab.

_In the name of science…_ Ienzo didn't quite agree with it, but what could he do? Nothing but go along with it and take comfort in the time Amber took him away from it. One certain instance was more prevalent in his mind than any other.

She wasn't due for a check-in or official visit that day, rather, she had come simply for the sake of coming to see everyone it seemed. That was, until he got the message from Even who told him he would probably be gone for the rest of the day. She had gone through Ansem to get permission to "borrow" him and she was supposed to be waiting for him with Radiant Garden's "king" by the main castle doors to the outside. When he finally reached them, Amber was all smiles, wearing a sundress that was a soft shade of earthy green and a random assortment of flowers braided into her wine red hair, catching Ienzo off guard. "You don't know what day it is, do you?" Her soft voice teased and Ienzo shook his head slowly while trying to recount what few holidays there were and which one today might be.

Ansem chuckled, shaking his head as if he thought the young boy was hopeless. "You spend too little time away from the lab. It's—"

"Shh! Don't tell him if he doesn't know, it leaves more room for fun! Ienzo's smart, he'll figure it out eventually…has he been before?" Amber cut Ansem off while grinning like she knew the world's biggest secret and was having quite the hard time keeping it to herself.

"No, they always worked through it. You know none of the apprentices are very social and I tend to be busy myself. This will be his first." He admitted, causing Amber's excitement to rise to the point it nearly seemed tangible.

"Awesome! This'll be so fun!" She cheered happily, causing Ienzo to look from her to Ansem and back. He had never seen her act this way and it was almost disorienting, and then a cough broke the illusion. She was still Amber, after all, just a bit excited. "Come on, I'm borrowing you for the day and you're not getting a choice—it took me forever for me to convince my parents to let me have free run today and you spend all your time holed up in the lab. You need to get out anyway." Her teasing was punctuated by snatching up one of his hands and trying to tug him towards the massive double-doors that led to freedom for them both. With a laugh Ansem stopped Amber with a quick grab of one of her shoulders and handed Ienzo a small bag of munny.

"Go have fun, and don't let her bully you too much. Amber, try not to run him ragged? I wouldn't mind it, but I'm sure Even will give me the third degree if I let him sleep it off all tomorrow…though I think it'd be good for him." Amber grinned innocently back at the older man and winked.

"I gotcha. Run him slap ragged and let you defend his honor in the name of childhood experiences. I see." Ansem laughed and patted her head as he winked back at her and wore a grin that mirrored hers.

"You got me. Just take it easy on yourself, okay?" His attention shifted from Amber to Ienzo. "Now don't forget to watch Amber, make sure she doesn't overdo it. We all know how stubborn she is, but if she doesn't look good or says she doesn't feel good then you slow her down and make her sit down. She is just as much your responsibility as you are hers, do you understand, Ienzo?" Ansem's voice was suddenly very much fatherly and serious as opposed to the joking tone it had carried before. Ienzo just nodded in response, a slight glint of humor mixed in with the seriousness in his odd blue-gray eyes.

"Yes sir. Just like old times." The reply is softly spoken, but conveys a light air of humor. The pair before him smiled fractionally at the almost-joke. Amber's hand traveled from gripping his hand to resting on his shoulder lightly.

"Still chaperoning, of course that hasn't changed, buuuuuuuuuut, this time it's just us, and _I_ get to lead you around! And I'm a lot better than before, so we can worry less and concentrate more on the fun!" It all came out so cheerfully that it was hard to imagine she was ever sick at all, impossible to believe she had almost been on her deathbed less than a year ago.

"Of course." Ienzo gave her an angelic smile; it was a "miracle" that kept her here with him—with them all. That was all he cared about in the end-he got to keep the only real friend he had ever had rather than lose her to the disease that had killed her slowly for most of her young life. He had Xehanort to thank for that, and he wished that, as much as he cared for Amber, he didn't have to owe it to the man who created the things that haunted his dreams and turned them into horrific nightmares. Of course Amber was the antidote for that problem. She was oblivious to it all, innocent in every way, a little ball of light and love that enjoyed flowers and hugs. Amber didn't care that he was a workaholic at eleven, she just jumped the command chain if she wanted to steal him away to do something every so often—typically about once a month or so. In spite of all the horrific things he'd aided in doing in the basement lab she was somehow still there for him, arms wide open and smiling. She didn't always understand him but she didn't have to, if he was upset, then she was there to cheer him up. If he just wanted to sit with her quietly in the garden, then she would sit there until he stood and thanked her; one time he had cried and she had just sat there and let him, holding him and murmuring assurances until he stopped without ever asking what it was about. Her innocence was contagious, if she touched you then for a time you became innocent as well…at least, that was how Ienzo felt.

"Mhm. Mr. Ansem? May we leave now?" Amber's question shattered his morbid thoughts like a flask shattering upon being dropped to the lab floor (although that was inadvisable, this was preferable). He watched as Ansem the Wise seemed to think a moment before politely gesturing to the door.

"Yes, go and have your fun. Particularly you, Ienzo." He smiled as though he knew something Ienzo didn't, however Ienzo had no time to ponder it as suddenly Amber's hand darted from his shoulder to his own and took a surprisingly strong hold. Before he really knew it or could really object to it, Amber had pulled him out of the door and into the daylight. Chatter from the world at the foot of the castle's steps assaulted his ears in a dull roar, even from where they stood at the top far above. Peering over the second landing wall filled his eyes with the sight of literally hundreds of people milling about the blooming castle garden below. What the heck was going on? Beside him, Amber let out a musical laugh and grinned widely at him when he looked to her questioningly.

"Ienzo, really? You still don't know?" He shook his head, causing her to sigh in annoyance. "It's the Full Bloom Festival!" Her tone came out playfully superior as she ruffled his hair gently.

Full…Bloom…_what_?

"_Oh_."

It hit him suddenly; the Full Bloom Festival was celebrated in Radiant Garden every Spring, when most of the plants in the castle garden were found to be blooming. It was supposed to be HUGE, with every kind of amusement you could think of and almost everyone in Radiant Garden in attendance. He had never been. He hardly even knew the time, let alone the day or date, and the Apprentices of Ansem the Wise were often too busy to leave the castle before Xehanort and the darkness experiments. Amber had just discussed that matter with Ansem, of course, and yet she seemed more excited than unhappy about the fact. Actually, it was only moments before Amber's hand took his again, more gently this time, and pulled him away from the second landing to the stairs that wound down to the ground—to the festival.

"I promise, you'll _love_ it!" Amber assured him.

The day passed in a blur of flowers, friendly people, a few rides, games, and food. Ienzo was shocked to discover Amber was a bottomless pit with a sweet tooth—every time he turned around, she had some new confection to snack on and often insisted that he try some. Most of it was good, if a little to sweet for him, but he quickly took a liking to a candy Amber had told him was called "salt water taffy" and initially forced him to try. In fact, quite a bit of it loaded down the pockets of his lab coat after that first piece Amber had made him try. It put him in mind of the sea-salt ice cream Ansem liked to share so much, and of course by the end of the festival, they ended up with some of that as well. Amber tried to avoid rides, opting for games instead and squarely defeated Ienzo at a dart-throwing game where the pointy projectiles were used to pop balloons. Amber had perfectly nailed three different balloons, landing her a Moogle plushie while Ienzo had fallen short every time. A second time proved no better, nor did a third and so on, until Amber pulled him away to prevent him from "blowing all his munny" with an amused laugh and her plushie tucked safely in her grasp.

It was just getting dark when Amber pulled him to the vendor's cart. "Two sea-salt, please, Mrs. Addison!" She ordered cheerfully, removing her own munny to pay. The young brown haired woman produced two blue-wrapped packages from the cart with a smile.

"Here you are, Amber! Are you and your friend there going to watch the fireworks?" Fireworks? There were going to be fireworks? Even claimed fireworks were the worst use of science ever, blowing up useful chemicals solely for the sake of visual entertainment. Ienzo had never seen them before.

"Of course, Mrs. Addison! The fireworks are the best part, and Ienzo has never been before—he works with Mr. Ansem and Doc. Even in the castle. We're gonna go watch them in the fountain court!" Amber announced proudly, taking the two packages and passing the owed munny to the woman.

"Is that so? You two have fun, then!" She said, waving the two off with a lovely smile. Amber handed Ienzo one of the blue plastic packages as they walked away.

"How does that sound, Ienzo? Ice cream and fireworks in the fountain court?" She asked, popping her own package open and producing a rather familiar blue bar of ice cream.

"It sounds nice… I-I have never seen fireworks before, Even says they are the worst application of science ever." Ienzo replied, opening his own ice cream package methodically and very nearly dropping it when Amber exploded with laughter.

"Ienzo, don't tell Even I said this. Ever. But for such a brilliant man of science, he can be full of crap sometimes. Fireworks are the coolest thing ever—best use of science_ I've_ seen yet. They're the best part of the Festival and they look best in the fountain court, you'll love 'em." The smile she was wearing might have suggested she was conspiring with the devil himself—if you believed in that kind of thing. Ienzo had no reason to believe a red man with horns and a pitchfork was the cause of all evil in the world. Even would _hate_ her for this, but she quite obviously didn't care. That was the point of today—not caring the least bit for what the rest of the world.

It worked, Ienzo found it easy to forget about all else during his day with Amber. So far, Amber had been right, he had loved every minute of the Festival. As they stepped out into the fountain court, he would put his last belief in Amber to the test. "We have a few minutes, let's go get a good spot and enjoy our ice cream before it starts." Amber led him to a ledge on a higher walkway by one of the fountains.

"Won't the wall obstruct the view of the fireworks?" Ienzo asked curiously. Amber shook her head slightly, ice cream bar in her mouth.

"No, they go really high." She spoke once the blue bar was removed from her mouth. "And it's even cooler here because all the lights reflect off the water." Finding the answer satisfactory, Ienzo moved back to focusing on his ice cream. After a few minutes of silence due to Ienzo's pondering, Amber spoke up again. "I'm cold."

Obviously, it was now night, and she was wearing a sundress and eating ice cream next to the spray from one of the fountains. "Stop eating the ice cream, then." He said almost dryly.

"Why waste good ice cream? 'Sides, makes my throat feel better." The smug expression on her face seemed to say she liked being difficult. With a sigh Ienzo removed his lab coat and stood on tiptoe to place it gently on her shoulders.

"Here. Hope it helps." He said, Amber blinking in surprise as the smug expression faded.

"Oh…thank you! You didn't have to…"

"Yeah I did. You were—ah!" Ienzo's reply was cut off as the lights in the court suddenly went out, plunging them into darkness.

"Oh! It's starting!" Amber cheered before glancing to Ienzo and holding out something to him suddenly. "His name is Hanabi, okay? You can keep him so you remember today forever." Ienzo was slightly surprised to find her holding the stuffed Moogle she'd won out to him. He didn't really like stuffed animals, but… It was then that he was distracted by a flash of green that shot up, up, up…and with a rather unexpected ground-shaking bang, exploded into more green that seem to explode in the water around them as well. He jerked around, gripping Hanabi the Moogle tightly.

"Whoa!" He gasped in awe.

"Was Even finally wrong about something?" Amber questioned, that smug little smile returning to her lips. Ienzo nodded quickly while reaching for her free hand with his own (made so by quickly lodging Hanabi into the crook of his ice cream hand's arm) and taking it gently as glows of red and blue followed the green, shooting into the air and exploding and dancing on the water of the court's fountains and surrounding them in a sea of multicolored stars.

"Pretty. Loud, but pretty." He spoke slowly.

"It gets better. Mr. Cid has some that make shapes and pictures!" Amber's excitement seemed to be spilling into him from her hand, where Ienzo held it. She was loving every bit of it—the lights, the explosions, the resulting thunderous booms and tremors, the fact he was there with her feeling the same way.

As a white one exploded into the image of a flower, Ienzo realized something; he had made an error before. His hand was jerked with Amber's in the heat of the moment as she cheered and clapped at the spectacle. He couldn't help but smile at the pure childish delight on her face, though she was five years older than him. He was wrong, Amber made him feel just like a normal kid, any normal boy, made him feel like the lab experiments and darkness research was all just a bad dream and it never really happened. She… Standing there with her made all the horror, the guilt, the sadness, all of the bad things fade away until they vanished entirely. His hands suddenly felt clean and his haunted conscious amazingly clear.

Standing there with Amber, eating ice cream and watching fireworks explode overhead and reflected like a sea of multicolored stars around them on the fountains, he suddenly felt sinless.

Nothing would ever look as beautiful as that scene, ever. Not even when they went back to the Festival in the following years, and there would never be a single object that held more importance to him than Hanabi, who was often found placed carefully atop the sheets and comforter of his oh-so-carefully made bed the belonged to Ienzo.

And then things changed.

They had gone too far. They got in too deep, and soon Amber became an annoyance to everyone but Ienzo and Xehanort, but while Xehanort was often too busy with research to meet with her, Ienzo took every chance he could to get away from the basement lab. With her he could be normal and happy for a little while, and she enjoyed the company just as much as he did. However, it was distracting Ienzo and making work much more difficult for Even, not to mention Ansem was getting suspicious…

They locked the older man away to keep him from bothering them. Locked him away where he would not be found, nor could he escape. Some of them (rather, most of them) had already become emotionless shells by then, and it was at that point they removed themselves from society completely, and Ienzo's removal was not of his own free will. Even(or rather the emotionless shell) sealed off the basement lab from the rest of the castle, not allowing Ienzo outside to see Amber or anything else until the darkness and despair in his heart built up and he finally gave in. "Of course this is what I get. I was doomed to meet this end from the beginning when I convinced Ansem to build this lab… Who was I kidding, I couldn't erase my sins and neither could Amber; no more than it would have been possible to erase Amber's illness and all those years she suffered from its full force. It was all just unreliable emotion and _human_ weakness." The newly born Zexion said to himself at some point afterward.

…But if that was true, then why did he not burn Hanabi when he was given free roam of the castle once more? The stuffed Moogle stood for everything he now claimed pointless, yet it still sat carefully placed atop the perfectly made sheets of his old bed. That was where Amber both found and left it on her last visit to the castle.

Zexion watched her quietly from the shadows, he wouldn't dare approach her as he was now, but something compelled him to watch her wander from room to empty room, calling out names no longer in use. Part of him tried to rationalize it as a final goodbye he could not tell her face-to-face, but it felt like a poor explanation. His chest continued to throb painfully as he watched, yet something refused to let him leave and return to the basement lab, which was still in use, unlike the rest of the castle.

Vexen would scold him, he was sure, but this was the last time he would see her. It was almost like closure for the dead, he would make sure she was okay and safe for the duration of her wandering, and that would be it. No more Amber Lyone except for a stray memory every so often after this…that decision would haunt him later.

He didn't think anyone left anything specific to be found on purpose. Sure, Hanabi had been left on his bed and she shook her head at that, but did not move it. Nothing else seemed to affect her until she got to the door of Xehanort's room, where she paused as though something had caught her interest. As far away as he was, he could not see what it was that had taken hold of her interest until she pulled it from the door and promptly turned around to read it leaning against the wall by the door. It seemed someone (Xemnas?) had left her a letter, or at least something on a piece of paper. Zexion could not tell what was on the paper, but Amber's worried expression quickly turned almost angry. "Why?" The softly spoken word carries to him clearly, full of pain and confusion. "Xehanort, _how is the BETTER_?" She shouted, but the anger in it cracked with her voice in the last word and melted into soft sobs. "Dangit…why'd you take everyone away? Why did you leave me alone…? I can't…" Zexion had the throbbing, memory-fueled urge to comfort her as she rubbed profusely at her face. It gets rid of the tears, but the emotion is still very much there. Amber, tough and morbid, yet lovely Amber is cried in harsh sobs that grated in his ears and filled his chest, locking him in place. "Is it impossible for me to be happy?" Her last words shook him, but it's their follow up that was the punch to the gut. "What did I do? And why did you have to take Ienzo, too? WHY?" The words echoed through the empty halls and reverberated in his ears, the ceiling was the only thing that prevented it from going heavenward like she might have wanted it to, not that she'd have gotten an answer even if she had been able to direct it to the open sky.

"I wish I could say I was sorry, Amber. I wish I could so much, but I can't because I could never mean it." He whispered under his breath so that she would never hear the last words he ever expected to speak to her, yet it was only after he spoke them that she turned and fled the empty castle with the paper clutched in her grasp. That would be the last time he ever saw Amber Lyone.

Or so he thought.


	2. Hellos, Gut Punches, and Goodbyes

**A/N: To clear up any confusion this may cause _before_ it causes any, I forgot to mention the fact this takes place during CoM, but slightly before Sora and Riku arrive... So...yeah. XD Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but Amber, Anya, Rayna(the one Anya calls little sister/the little redhead), and Hanabi. :)**

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><p>"Ienzo?" He was dreaming, that was the only way he could be hearing <em>that<em> voice again. However, he couldn't be sleeping because he was still in Castle Oblivion, and he always dreamed of his life as Ienzo before, in Radiant Garden. "Ienzo!" No, there was no way he could be hearing Amber Lyone's voice, yet… Something propelled him around in time to see whatever it was heading towards him sink in a wild spray of wine red. Reacting on instinct, he reached out and snatched the object from gravity's cruel grasp. What he found in his hands was not what he expected—his hands gripped slender arms near the shoulders, down which poured stranded red wine that framed deathly pale skin and pale blue eyes that had a childlike quality to them. Those blue that flickered to his face before lighting up appeared to have faded since he had last seen her.

Something was wrong, not just her faded eye color. She was too thin, too pale, easily breakable and unmistakably frail compared to the last time he had seen her. "Amber?" Zexion was hit with the memory of a tone referred to often as 'sounding too scared to ask' if only because he could no longer really feel the emotion to be scared. His chest grave a painful throb at the thought of how he would have been worried beyond belief and scared for her life if he could have been. How had this happened?

"Sorry, but thank you for catching me, Ienzo. I just… I got all excited to see you, but I haven't walked in awhile and I—" Amber's explanation was cut off by an explosive cough that wracked her entire, all too fragile body. It was a cough that he was eerily familiar with, one he knew had been long gone when he had seen her that final time. He was struck rather sharply by a memory of dread, this was _not_ happening. No, it could _not_ be back to claim her! The coughing stretched on and Zexion finally reached out to gently wrap and arm around her tiny waist to better support her and leave her arms free. "…and I just _had_ to touch you and make sure you were real since I haven't seen you in so long… But my legs didn't want to cooperate, I guess." She gave a little laugh that sounded oddly raspy and disused. Zexion frowned at the harsh sound but looked up at the sound of approaching feet. His gaze fell upon Vexen as he entered, wearing an expectant face.

"Amber dear, are you okay?" The expectant look was replaced by one full of elaborately constructed false concern. Still leaning on Zexion for support, Amber looked up and smiled radiantly.

"I'm fine Even, Ienzo's here!" She spoke of him as though he were a cure-all. It was confusing and yet so very Amber-like that it was refreshing, but his made his chest throb. Her attention did not remain on Vexen for very long, she twisted in Zexion's grasp so that she could look at him. I missed you all so much, especially you and Xehanort, Ienzo! …It's too bad I won't get to see him…" She hugged him and clung like tape. "I could swear you got bigger—you're as tall as me now. I don't ever you remember you being that tall…" She observed softly, but Zexion was caught off guard by the remark about not being able to see Xehanort.

"What…?" He glanced back to see Vexen looking smug and a ghost of anger and suspicion blazed up. Somehow his protectiveness for Amber seemed to still be intact, as though he had subconsciously known he would need it. His arm tightened slightly around her tiny waist and turned a glare on Vexen. "Even," He forced the name out through his teeth. "Would you kindly tell me what Amber means? Just why is she here after so many years?" He growled darkly. Amber frowned, her eyebrows knitting together to form a 'V' shape and her washed-out blue eyes flashing with long-forgotten emotions that Zexion's memory claimed to be surprise, sadness and fear.

"What do you mean?" She asked softly, sounding so frail that Zexion wondered (as he could no longer worry) if the slightest movement would break her.

"Amber, I am looking for answers from Even. He knows exactly what I mean and that is all you need to worry about. It's not anything you should worry about." He was extremely conscious of her facial expressions, particularly her eyes, which remained expressive as ever. She didn't appear happy about his response, but as her lips parted to speak, Vexen answered him.

"She is here to volunteer to participate as a subject in our most recent project discussion. You remember what I'm talking about, right?" Zexion froze, he knew all too well. There was a boy in Ienzo's memories that had saved him from creatures that were much like Heartless, yet they were not. Vexen said the boy's name was Ventus and that he knew for a fact (somehow) that this boy had been separated into pure light and pure darkness, and Vexen wanted to do the same. Particularly he wanted to see if the being of pure light could be used to replace the light of another or be used to bring back the light of another so that they might become complete again. In this case he had his sights set on some keyblade bearer that was long gone, but the subject of the split had been a matter of discussion. At least, it had been.

As he realized exactly what Amber was there for, Zexion's eyes widened and he shook his head while pulling the girl closer to him. "No, Ve—Even. Not Amber, no. Not for that." He growled, she deserved better than that. Amber was _not_ a tool, she was Amber Lyone, the innocent girl who had never done anything wrong. Her hands were clean, she didn't belong in this mess. He couldn't get away from it—he had been too far-gone—but Amber… She should have never have had to start running. It occurred to him very briefly to wonder just _how_ he could still 'care' this much for her, he figured it was because he had cared do much about her before and he wanted her to be happy in place of everyone else's screw-ups that made them like this. Now Vexen wanted to ruin her life, too?

"She said she wanted to." Vexen's smile was malicious, Zexion shook his head slightly again.

"What did you tell her she was signing up for?" He snapped and then he was distracted by something suddenly tugging on his coat.

"I want to." Amber glanced down as he looked at her. "I… If Xehanort needs help and this is the only thing I can do, then I want to do this." Zexion grimaced as his chest gave another odd throb at the soft words. He wanted to shake her like a rag doll to make her see sense but he did not want to hurt her.

"Amber, please don't do this. We can find someone else, but not you. Do you not understand that this… It. Will. _Kill_. You!" He sank to trying to plead with her not to go through with the experiment she probably didn't understand the results would do. Her gaze stayed down as though she was speaking to the floor.

"Ienzo, if I don't do this I'll die soon anyway and my life won't have made any use of the time it had." The words made him remember the morbid discussions she would have with him when they were kids. She often joked she had too much time to think, she often found herself creating her own epitaphs, and one in particular stuck in his memory rather strongly—"_Her life was like a book with the pages ripped out—incomplete._" His thoughts were interrupted by Amber speaking up again. "When you all disappeared, I got really sick again and with no one there at the castle, my parents refused to let me leave the house. I've been under house arrest for _years_, Ienzo. Seemingly endless years where I've watched the destruction of Radiant Garden from my window just as much as I've stared at the ever-present stars of Traverse Town, and I'm so tired of just watching. I want to give my life meaning, a reason to be remembered beyond being that sick little girl who could do nothing but wait for her own destruction!" She stopped for a moment to cough again, so violently that Zexion thought it a miracle she did not shatter into pieces in his grasp. "If I can use my already fading life to help someone, then I want to do just that." The resoluteness in her voice spoke much louder than she did, and some part of him wanted to trap her in his Lexicon to protect her from danger and Vexen's insane plan just as much as herself. But…if he did that, could you call her living? Would she ever forgive him for that moment of complete selfishness? Probably not.

"Amber," He sighed slowly, defeat heavy in his voice. "Why must you be so stubborn?" Her soft, ringing laugh followed by that familiar cough answered.

"Because that's how I've made it this long, of course! And since it's kept me alive this long, it might as well factor into how I die." He cringed at her bluntness and the humor mixed into it all. It was another familiar part of Amber, but one he never had really liked.

"I'll leave you two for a moment, there are preparations to be made and she wanted to see you most, Ienzo, so there should be no problems." Vexen said coldly before walking off. For a brief moment he was tempted to take her and run or tell her the truth behind it all, but he could not bring himself to tell the things that would consequently follow. Particularly the fact that he was no longer her Ienzo and he could no longer truly feel. He could not hurt her like that, not when she was so happy to see him again and was content with the situation as it was—it was unlikely Vexen would let his precious subject go now that he had her anyway.

The situation annoyed him. Here Zexion was, a master schemer and yet he was unable to hatch a scheme to get Amber away from Vexen and keep her complete. Yes, Vexen feared Xemnas greatly, but if Amber caught sight of him then it was likely that she would find out anyway and he would end up hurting her. No Xemnas, then. Lexaeus was gone at the moment, so the big, often silent Nobody could not offer backup and Axel hadn't known her that well. None of the others in Castle Oblivion knew her at all, and calling in the great emotionless Xaldin or Xigbar would not only annoy the two but would also probably not offer any solution. There was literally nothing he could think of to save her.

"Why did you want to see me so badly if you are going to give up your life soon?" He asked, almost sounding sad. Amber's gaze turned back to him to meet his eyes and she reached up to play with the hair that fell wildly in his eyes.

"I missed you so much… you don't know how much I wished you were there for company over the years, how much I wished I could get out of bed and run to the castle to find you there waiting for me at the doors while talking to Aeleus and Dilan like nothing ever happened…but that never happened when I did run there, and then I couldn't leave then soon enough I could barely leave my bed. I never got to know if you ever came back…" She looked so sad, all Zexion wanted to do was make her happy again, yet he didn't know how.

"I'm sorry, Amber. I missed you too, but I couldn't go back. There was no way for me to. There still isn't." He responded, sounding more and more like he meant it. The more convincing he sounded, however, the more Zexion was becoming acutely aware that he could not mean it no matter how much he wanted to. He was just falling victim to a confusing swirl of the ghosts of long-dead and forgotten emotions. Oddly enough, it was true, at least the wanting to go back part, anyway. Amber's hand dropped from his hair slowly and then both arms wrapped around his waist in a gentle hug. The long-unfamiliar action took him off guard for a moment before he uncertainly hugged her back.

"Maybe, if things had been a little different, we wouldn't be here." She murmured, closing her eyes. "Maybe we'd still be happy friends, living a relatively carefree life in Traverse Town. Maybe I wouldn't be dying and opting to give up my life to help a friend, maybe I'd still be sick, but we wouldn't be here." She sighed, Zexion nodded, although he knew she wouldn't see it.

"Maybe. I wish they had been." He replied, suddenly realizing how little she had really changed in the years he had been gone. Though she was now twenty-something (Twenty-six? The years had melted together…) she was no longer so much taller than him, in fact she was fractionally shorter and there were other small physical changes, but her personality had been untouched, it seemed. She was still warm, loving, morbid Amber. He glanced at her almost worriedly as she shivered.

"Ienzo, I'm cold." She said softly, washed out blue eyes open once more and staring back into his own. His gaze softened as he remembered where those lines had been used before.

"Stop eating the ice cream, then." He murmured as he disentangled himself from her grasp momentarily to remove his Organization coat. Amber smiled knowingly and quoted off long unspoken lines once more.

"Why waste good ice cream? 'Sides, makes my throat feel better." She replied with a nostalgia and humor-filled smile. Zexion wrapped her in his coat and returned that same smile that spoke of a yearning for older times when things had been so much simpler.

"That better?" He asked her as Amber huddled up inside the big black coat.

"Much, thank you. It's so warm…" She looked like she was in pure bliss among the folds of black while Zexion felt practically naked without it on, the plain black t-shirt he wore under it did very little to hide his skin from the air.

"I hardly ever take it off. Should be nice and warm for you." He told her as Amber snuggled the coat while looking quite content. It was a bit big on her due to her unnatural thinness, but it looked kind of cute in an odd way.

At the sound of footsteps approaching them once more Zexion turned around to see a waiting Vexen. "Time to go, Amber." He sounded slightly sad, but the sick glee in his eyes was rather evident. Zexion's chest gave another sharp throb as Amber stepped in for another quick hug.

"Are you sure about this?" He asked her one last time and Amber's smile turned sad as she gazed up at him.

"I'm sure, Ienzo. Ah, would you mind giving this to Xehanort?" She produced an envelope like one would mail a letter in, labeled "Xehanort" in large, elegantly written letters on the front.

"When did you…?"

"During the day, after Even first approached me with the question about whether or not I would participate. I wrote one for mom and dad, then one to Xehanort because Even had to sneak me out at night. I couldn't say goodbye to them in person, so I wrote out my goodbyes for them, unlike you. I get to hug you and talk to make everything alright for a little while before I go." She leaned into him and hugged him as tightly as she could while Zexion hugged her back as tightly as he dared to as though it might stop her from walking away from Vexen. "I'm really glad I got to see you again, Ienzo. I'm happy we got to talk, you don't know how happy you made me…but I have to go now. Try not to forget me?" Zexion wanted to cry, wanted to do something that would make her stay, he didn't want to let her go. He was suddenly hit with more of the first time he'd ever seen fireworks and he wished he could reclaim that moment forever. He wanted to wake up and suddenly realize this was all just a bad dream and Amber would be waiting for him outside with flowers in her hair and a green sundress on. He wanted to be Ienzo again, young and innocent, so he could start over again, keep himself out of the mess he had fallen into. So he could be sinless. If he could have made things different he would have, just so he didn't have to watch her walk away from him. He wanted it so bad he could almost feel it…he wanted to be able to feel again so he could tell her just how much it would hurt him to lose her, so he could tell her just how sorry he was for leaving her in the first place, so he could tell her everything he thought of her, everything he was beginning to remember he felt towards her.

It was impossible, he knew, but he couldn't stop thinking about it and wishing it weren't true. There was no cleaning his stained hands, no way to reclaim what he had so carelessly lost. Not even if he would never want anything else again should that wish be granted.

"Hanabi won't let me." He whispered back, Amber's eyes widened.

"But I saw him on your bed at the castle when I…" She sounded quite surprised and he couldn't repress a satisfied smile.

"I came back for him. He still sits on my bed, just in a different bedroom. I won't ever forget the first time I saw fireworks and Hanabi is a part of that so I couldn't just leave him behind." The words sounded completely sincere and warm.

Amber gave him a gentle smile. "That's good…" She whispered in reply as she pulled away from the hug, looking to Vexen as she did. "I have to…" She spoke as though it was only a minor distraction separating them rather than what would basically be death, gesturing to Vexen.

"Go. I get it." It killed him to say it, but he couldn't change her mind. Why make her feel bad before she was no longer herself anymore? He spoke softly and Amber gave him a look of thankfulness. "Bye, I'll miss you. Won't forget you, I promise." His voice came out carrying that same soft, almost hurt tone. She took his hand gently as she moved away from him so she could squeeze it lightly before letting it slide out of her grasp and breaking her contact with him.

"Bye, Ienzo…" She breathed before turning her back to him and walking towards Vexen before turning abruptly. "Oh, your—"

"Keep it for now." He didn't even let the whole question out before answering. Amber frowned before Vexen tugged on her arm, bringing her attention forward and finally away from him.

It was the worst thing he would ever experience, watching Amber walk away with Vexen, down the path to her own ruin. When he could no longer see her, he turned away and moved to his room.

It stared with accusing eyes, the stuffed Moogle did, even though Hanabi was less alive than he was. The Moogle had somehow survived the years without earning itself much attention—as far as Zexion knew, anyway. He was just…."glad" it hadn't earned enough attention to warrant it taken away from him. Now he wondered if that was a blessing or a curse. "Don't look at me like that." He muttered at it as though in response to some unheard question. "I tried to save her, you should know that. I can't help she's so stubborn that it impedes good judgment, I really _tried_, Hanabi… I just couldn't save her. Trust me when I say I wish I could have…" He sounded crazy and desperate where he should not have. Just as he expected, the Moogle did not answer, but he kept talking anyway. "It was horrible, I just didn't want to let her go; not when she's the only one of us who is left complete. She's really sick again and I know she would have died because of it sooner rather than later—I could smell it on her—but at least she would be at final peace…now it will be marred by manipulation and pain. Hanabi, why did this have to happen to her of all people?" At this point, he had seated himself on the bed and taken hold of the Moogle.

"Her?" The simple, toneless question had Zexion jumping and spinning around, trying to hide the Moogle plush as he did. He eased as he recognized the massive form in the doorway.

"Amber Lyone." He replied and Lexaeus' eyes just barely show recognition.

"What about Amber? That was the girl who was always at the castle all the time?" Lexaeus put it bluntly, seemingly as emotionless as ever, yet Zexion heard the slight uncertain undertone that said something nagged at him.

"She's Vexen's newest _toy_ now, he's going to kill her 'for the sake of science' so he can play with what's left of her! I _tried_ to get her to back out, but she's sick again and she didn't want her life to have been meaningless or whatever idiotic human excuse she's come up with to justify it, and Vexen has her thinking it's all for Xemnas—her Xehanort—so there is no talking her out of it and now she's gone with him… Lexaeus, he's _killing_ her for no good reason!" Zexion seemed to explode, on the verge of childlike breakdown and nearly emotional. Lexaeus' eyebrows raised fractionally, a barely hinted at expression of surprise on his face.

"Let it go." Lexaeus muttered, shaking his head. "She made her decision just like we did years ago. Zexion, we're all doomed with the consequences for actions done all those years past us. There is nothing more to be done for this situation."

"And yet here I sit, trying to come up with an idea as to how to stop her and all of the perks and consequences." Zexion muttered, Lexaeus shook his head again.

"You may want to rethink your position on this matter, Zexion. Matters of the heart are no longer matters that concern us, nor are the matters that will concern us again so soon to cause you worry. Forget the whole orde—"

"Excuse me? Ienzo?" A gentle feminine voice called from behind Lexaeus, but it's not Amber's. This voice was stronger, more confident, louder than Amber's, and as her scent hit him, Zexion flinched. She was negative, dark, and yet a certain sweetness tainted it all. Lexaeus stepped aside and turned to look at the unfamiliar girl who had spoken. Zexion's mind brought to the surface the memory of an emotion called shock.

She was taller and more healthy looking than Amber, body simply lean rather than ridiculously thin and the healthy glow was faint, but more there than it had been for Amber. She gazed at Zexion with deep gray eyes like metal or stone and though her hair was long, it wasn't as long and was more messily styled…however the most jarring feature was the fact that where it had been that familiar shade of wine red, her hair was now so darkly colored that it could have been described as being darker than black. Her body was covered in a pair of close-fitting jeans, a black tank top, what appeared to be hiking boots, and she practically clung to the long, black coat in her arms—Zexion's coat.

It was those dark yet beautiful eyes that turned to Lexaeus in surprise. "Hi, Aeleus, I didn't know you were here." She greeted him with a slight smile and received a very confused, badly faked one in return. "Anyway," She sighs and steps just into the room, hugging the coat like it held her to the world. It was odd; she was Amber and yet she was also not Amber. "I… I'm not sure what happened, but I ended up with your coat, well, at least Even said it was yours… I don't…"

"Thanks." His voice is cold and her face adopted a hurt expression as he snatched the coat away from her.

"I was unaware I angered you earlier…sorry… I do not remember what I did wrong, but I am sorry." She murmured, glancing away shyly. Much to Zexion's surprise, he almost fell to pieces.

"Oh, no, you didn't… I didn't mean to… It's nothing you did!" I'm just in a bad, ah, mood. Sorry." The empty look of surprise on Lexaeus' face kept getting more and more interesting as their conversation went on. Mood, that was a word he had not used in years, and it felt odd to be speaking it again. Zexion's did not understand why he was acting this way, nothing should have mattered now that Amber was gone and yet one of her doomed fragments held the same effect over him.

"Oh! I'm Anya, by the way." She offered abruptly, then looked perplexed for a moment. "But we know each other, why…? Whatever. Ienzo, sister is not well—she sleeps and sleeps but won't wake up, I tried shaking her shoulder, calling to her, almost everything. Would you like to visit her?" Zexion had been taking everything in stride pretty well up to that point, but '"sister" had been like a pot shot to the gut when he hadn't been expecting it. Of _course _there was another one; that had been part of the biggest point of the experiment, but…

He drew out the letter that Amber had given it him for Xehanort and flicked it expertly, sending it spinning through the air like some kind of crazy shuriken until it wedged itself between two books on the less than packed book case opposite from him against the other wall. He wasn't sure what he would do with it, but Zexion was quite sure it would not make it to the one it was intended to, or maybe it just might—he would decide later. "Sure, let's do that, Anya." He said, to which Anya responded with a nod and took his hand gently. For a moment his hand nearly tore itself free of her pale, long-fingered grasp before he pushed the urge back.

She lead him to Vexen's lab without hesitation, to table upon which rested the tiny, pale body of a girl in clothes too big for her—the green shirt and jeans Amber had been wearing. Her hair was chin length, but that shade of wine red he'd grown so familiar with. He supposed her eyes were the same gray as Anya's and she smelled…the best way he could put it was clean and fresh, like pure light and innocence. _This_ was the essence of the girl he suddenly realized he had loved since their first conversation, maybe even before that… The realization was as new as the two girls before him; he'd never even realized it when he was younger, before he had lost the ability to feel. _This_, the little, pale, redheaded girl who lay motionless on the table who smelled like she'd never known a thing of sadness and pain, or even darkness at all, _that_ was Amber. Of course, she also wouldn't wake up… "She recovering, for now she will remain asleep." Vexen's voice suddenly popped the quiet, peaceful little bubble that had enveloped him for a moment. As the scientist stepped forward, Anya skittered around Zexion and grabbed his arm like she was using him as a shield.

"Is that so?" Zexion asked flatly, glancing to Anya and then the girl she had called sister.

"It is," Vexen replied coldly, Zexion glared back while Anya continued to cling to his arm.

"What are you afraid of, Anya? It's just Even." He murmured, Anya shook her head.

"I don't like him. He's far more pushy than I remember." She whispered back sharply, and Zexion shifted his arm out of her grasp to put it around her almost protectively.

"It's okay, I won't let him hurt wither of you, I promise." He wouldn't let either of them walk away like Amber had, no, he would protect them until he could no longer. Zexion would hold onto what pieces of her that he had left, even if they were no longer completely her. "Even, would you mind leaving us for awhile?" He could no longer stand to have Vexen hanging over him or the girls, particularly the girls. Vexen glared at him, yet turned back to the door and started walking away.

"Of course not," floated back to them and Anya slowly eased her grip on Zexion's arm. When Vexen finally disappeared from sight, she let go with a huge sigh of relief.

"It's okay, sister, Ienzo will protect us! Even won't hurt you, Ienzo promised." Anya murmured, leaning down close to the little body sleeping on the table. Gently, ever so gently, as though she thought she might break the little girl, one of her pale hands reached out and stroked the girl's arm. "You can wake up now, you know? You can recover here with us." She breathed, sounding almost pleading while Zexion stood back and gazed intently at the girl's angelic face. Suddenly Anya turned around to meet his eyes. "You can touch her too, Ienzo. Come on." There was more than the gentle offering there; her voice was projecting a plea to him now. It was as though she thought he could fix it all, and he knew he couldn't. In fact, he probably should never have laid eyes on her, should have run away from them then, yet he found himself stepping towards her. Anya moved aside with a soft "go on, tell her it's okay."

_It's not okay, though…_ Zexion thought as he came to stand beside the girl's body. Slowly, uncertainly, Zexion reached out to run his fingers through her hair. _You don't need to wake up. I can't always stop Vexen, and he wants to hurt you, little one._ "I won't let Even hurt you. It's okay, you can wake if you wish…" _I don't want you or Anya to get hurt. You're both the remnants of the girl I loved, and I couldn't protect her, but I will protect you. So just keep on sleeping for now. Don't worry about it, though, because I'll just be "happy" you're okay, you don't need to be caught in this mess anyway…_

Zexion was startled when she moved. He had moved his hand to rest lightly on her cheek, Anya gasped as the girl tilted her cheek into his palm, mumbling and reaching out a hand towards him. "Ienzo, sorry…" She mumbled before settling down again. Her tiny hand fell short of him and did not move again, though both he and Anya waited.

"What's she sorry for? Anya finally asked, eyes never moving from that little body. To Zexion, it was the final, ultimate punch in a series of them. For a moment he couldn't think past the possibility that it was Amber speaking to him for one last time, but before he can get enough sense together to lie to Anya about it, he is frozen by a familiar voice filling his head.

_I had to fight to tell you this, keeping myself in her was difficult because she is no longer me, but I couldn't say what I really wanted to before. I love you, Ienzo, will love you forever…but I knew I couldn't be with you forever, not like this. I'm so sorry I had to make a choice like this, and I know it's unfair, but I couldn't let you watch me die like before and Even said he needed me, so I gave my rapidly fading life to save the life of the friend that saved mine once before… I'll love you forever, but I owed him my life. But don't you worry; we'll see each other again! I'll be waiting for you at the end with a big hug and a smile—I'll be the girl with the long red hair, so don't you miss me!_

That voice was Amber's and what she had to say had floored him. "…Ienzo?" He jumped at the sound of Anya's voice.

"I have no idea what she was talking about. Come on, let's let her rest." Zexion's words sounded shaky as he turned away from the girl who seemed to be the essence of Amber, the girl whom he doubted had any conceivable idea of the cold world that awaited her if she woke. Without looking back to see if Anya was following, he began to walk away. _You are not her, but neither is Anya._ He thought back to the sleeping girl, eyes closing for a moment. _But that doesn't matter anymore. You are what is left of her, and I will do all in my power to keep you safe; but I cannot promise anything… Vexen doesn't want to hurt Anya as much as you, so stay asleep. I'll stay with you from time to time, little one, but don't worry. You don't need to become acquainted with this painful, harsh world, it would hurt your innocence, ruin your lovely light. Don't open your eyes, stay in the world of dreams, stay clean, stay innocent,_

Zexion paused for a moment to make and ironic thought and chuckled to himself as he opened his eyes.

_Stay sinless._

It never occurred to him to think she might never have a choice until Anya figured out what was going on. He never said a word to her, but Vexen gave it away bit by bit. To Zexion, it felt as though once day she was there, sleeping as always while he and Anya stood beside her, and the next both she and Anya were gone. It only took one look at Vexen to figure out what happened—they weren't coming back, he had failed to protect them just like he had failed to protect Amber. Something in him almost wanted to feel hate towards Vexen, but the scientist didn't live much longer beyond that. Lexaeus followed not too long after, and then he went in their footsteps as well. Part of him didn't want to go, but that was instinct, at the same time he didn't feel too upset about it.

He'd get to see Amber again, after all.


	3. Epilogue

**A/N: Yup, that last part wasn't the end! This wasn't in the original plan, but oh well, I love the extra sweetness, hope everyone else does as well!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but my ideas expressed here... If I owned KH then this would have actual signifcance to the KH game plotline and wouldn't be here. XD**

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><p><strong>Epilogue<strong>

He didn't expect it to be like this. He had been beyond redemption or anything like that, yes, he had kind of _hoped_ Amber was right about seeing him at the end, but he was pretty sure it wouldn't actually happen. Afterlife wasn't scientifically possible, why should he have ever believed in it? He'd always been told science was the only truth by Even, but he'd also been told once by a lovely young girl that for such a brilliant man of science, Even was full of crap sometimes. It seemed Amber was right more often than Even or Vexen had ever been, not that he minded—she was right about good things.

When he opened his eyes to see beautiful, familiar pale blue ones hanging above him like omniscient moons, he knew she had been right again. "Ienzo," She spoke warmly, brushing the stray hair out of his eyes. The long, wine red hair he knew so well fell around them like a veil, blocking out many details of the world around them, not that he really cared at the moment. "I didn't expect to see you so soon." Those pale eyes took on an expression of sadness all by themselves that made him want to-

_Ta-thump._

What the-?

_Ta-thump._

What _was_ that? Amber grinned above him, eyes lightening into amusement as she watched his clearly-expressed confusion. Slowly, a gentle, pale hand came to rest on his chest. "Your _heart_." The soft words were spoken with a kind of reverence. The contact made the thumping he vaguely remembered as a heartbeat speed up. "Heh, you'll get used to it in time. The others did." _That_ got him wondering.

"Others?" She only smiled further and glanced up.

"Us." The familiar deadpan jolted him and he lifted his head to see a tall, muscular redhead smirking at him. Behind him stood other members of the Organization minus their uniforms, wearing various expressions, one of whom nearly froze him as complete and utter shock stormed his system.

"Xemnas!" He snarled, moving to get up and attack the reason for Amber's death, however it was Amber's hands that grabbed his shoulder and held him back. Lexaeus, or rather Aeleus, moved between Ienzo and the brown-haired man who so closely resembled Organization XIII's leader.

"No, not Xemnas. Or Xehanort, either. Ienzo, this is Terra. Xehanort took over his body years ago just before we found him and the overload of two hearts in one body shut both of them out and basically created one person from them. When you lost your hearts, Terra came here along with what was pieces of you all were left. He's very kind, calm down…" Amber assured him gently, causing him to look up in confusion. "It's been explained to me bit by bit. I understand enough to get by. You're not Zexion anymore, though." She told him firmly before the young man she called Terra poked his head out from behind Aeleus.

"Amber?" He asked shyly, Amber smiled gently back at him.

"I'm okay, Terra, he just needs a little time, like the others. You just stand back and give him a few moments." She called back soothingly and Ienzo looked back at her questioningly. "It's okay; he's just worry prone since I'm the first company who has been able to really talk to him in years. Don't worry a bit—you're still the one I love." He felt an odd warmth flare within him at the murmured words.

"That's good, because I can finally really tell you I love you too." He murmured back, causing Amber to release his shoulders and wrap his arms around him.

"Well we kinda have all the time in the world since this is our last stop. We're dead, but we've been split apart so our souls can't go where all the others go. Not that any of us mind; it's pretty here." The soft whisper in his ear made him shiver.

"Good, that means I have all the time in the world to make up for everything we missed." He told her, pulling on one of her arms so that she leaned over to one side where he could see her face. Amber looked back at him with those large, pale blue moons innocently and he smiled as he forgot everyone else around them, leaning towards her and she lifted her face to meet his. "I wish I'd realized how I felt about you before we died, Amber Lyone, because I love you more than science, than reason, than emotionlessness could hold back. I love you so much death can't keep us apart." He whispered against her lips just before he kissed her.

When their lips met, it was like that first Full Bloom Festival again. When Ienzo closed his eyes, he saw a young boy and girl holding hands and eating sea-salt ice cream while watching fireworks. Except this time, they weren't the boy and girl...

They were the fireworks.

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><p><strong>One final AN: And that concludes Sinless! Thanks to everyone who read all the way though, because I know this thing is freaking LONG, but hopefully you like it... And I don't think I've mentioned it yet, but _please_ comment!**


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